At the risk of starting another round of political argument, here is a link to a well-written argument that is worth reading. I am not posting this to inflame, annoy or otherwise upset people here, as so often seems to be the case these days on this board.

No, what I want is for you to go through the article and read it carefully, before putting on your high-explosive hat, and let it sink in - especially the last couple of paragraphs.

If you are curious as to who the writer is, he's Oliver Postgate, co-creator of Bagpuss, The Clangers, Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog, The Pogles, and other works of high-quality children's TV. You can have a look at other musings under the same URL.

... and here's how he did it.

Way cool!

First off... very well written piece. Second... why the F haven't I heard of this guy?! That looks amazing. I'm off to do some research on him. Wonder If I can find any of his work here in the US.

I am astonished - close to Ray Harryhausen in vintage, and in innovation - all done on a shoestring. Yet you've never heard of him - and you worked at ILM? Apparently, GL watched these (and James Cameron, amazingly enough) for ideas!

I would recommend "The Clangers" on DVD which is the most easily accessible stuff. The first time you see it, you will either fall over laughing in disbelief, or - more likely - you will be captivated by the images he has put onto the screen, and wonder at the fact that they were being produced just before Eagle landed at Tranquility.

If there is interest, then let me know and I will arrange for a viewing at the empeg meet in the Summer - yet another reason to come to the party

PS We have this guy to thank for Wallace and Grommit and Chicken Run from Aardman Animations - Nick Park (twice an Oscar winner for animation - see various Pixar movies for "quotes") was apparently also inspired by his work in stop-motion.

<--Crawls under couch.

In my defense, it was a bit before my time, and in another country.

But man, I LOVE guys like this who just invent techniques out of necessity. Brilliant. I've always secretly wanted to do stop motion rather than CG.

Like this? (Done with a cheap webcam).

Interesting indeed. Well written, only slightly flamey and thoughtful. However the author does that which is warned against:

"...casual thinking can often consist almost entirely in choosing, collecting and comparing the conveniently-labelled goods that happen to be about."

...

"President Bush, and indeed his friend and henchman Tony Blair..."

Henchman?

It's a good article, but it's biased. But then why shouldn't it be? Being equivocal or ambivalent would weaken the impact of the author's meaning.

Of course, perhaps I'm being biased against those with bias =)

The first step towards that must be a rejection of bluster, brave fancy and the convenience-packaging of weasel-words, coupled with a genuine readiness to recognise and accept the full reality of a situation, whatever it may be.

All hail President Bush: "My mind is made up. Don't confuse me with facts!"

tanstaafl.